Balls rejects Sats row intervention
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Almost a quarter of the English Sats taken by 14-year-olds have still not been marked - a fortnight after the results were due to be published, MPs were told today.
The Schools Secretary Ed Balls said the firm behind the marking fiasco had now released the results of 98 per cent of the exams sat by 11-year-olds and 88 per cent of those taken by 14-year-olds.
But he ruled out intervening in the row because the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and ETS Europe were involved in "sensitive" negotiations about the delays.
Just 76.9 per cent of the English tests taken by the 14-year-olds have been graded, despite a July 8 deadline. Some 94.1 per cent of maths scripts and 93.4 per cent of science exams had been marked.
The QCA is in discussions with ETS Europe about the "unacceptable delays," Mr Ball told MPs in a written update.
"Those discussions are highly sensitive - legally and financially - and ... it is very important that the QCA should be allowed to conclude them in a timely and orderly fashion in order to safeguard the interests of pupils, schools and taxpayers.
"Ministerial intervention, at this stage, would be totally inappropriate and would jeopardise the public interest."
Tory leader David Cameron yesterday demanded that the Government ditch ETS.
He also insisted ETS should forfeit any pay-off due to the marking delays, which have left hundreds of thousands of pupils across England in the dark over their results.
Liberal Democrat spokesman David Laws said: "This latest information shows that the marking of the Key Stage tests remains a shambles.
"Almost a quarter of Key Stage 3 English tests have yet to be marked and released to schools.
"This means that over 130,000 children are still waiting for results two weeks after these were due.
"The marking of the tests has been such a mess that there will now be real concerns about the reliability of the results - with schools facing potentially huge bills if they request re-marking.
"Ministers must consider the case for waiving re-marking costs this year and they must ensure that not a penny of public money is paid to ETS until the results of the independent report have been carefully considered.
"Ed Balls should scrap the Key Stage 3 tests for next year and re-invest the money saved where it is needed most - in early intervention to tackle poor maths and English skills."
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Comments
15 Comments
Crossword question: Who do you get to make a balls of the education system? Starts with E and is 7 characters (no spaces)
Posted by Richard Fletcher | 22.07.08, 21:01 GMT
Mr Balls is unlikely to fall on his knife, he remains one of many in Govenment who will requre the voting public to remined him of his duties, namely find another job which requires no moral courage.
Posted by John Davison | 22.07.08, 17:50 GMT
'Balls By Name, and Balls by Nature'. Its about time Balls, and his Cabinet colleagues of the Lower Remove got a grip on this matter and jsut sack the American company who are 'ballsing' everything up. Confidence has to be maintained, and that is what Balls is just NOT doing.
Get a grip Balls, or you will be made to stay in detention and learn your Times-Tables over again!!
Posted by B Clark | 22.07.08, 17:45 GMT
The key issue remains that the Sats are pointless and too large to be able to be marked. Why are they pointless? The grade 6 ones are pointless as all secondary schools retest anyway as, at best, the results show which schools can drill better than other schools. It need not reflect individual student ability. Ther fore secondary schools need to know students and then check against common teaching. Logically, therefore the Sats at Grade 6 are only of use for pointless league tables. (Why pontless? The strongest predictor of well students do id the educational level of parents. As such league tables main achievement is to show the SES of parents.) Year 9 Sats are even more pointless as students will stay at the schools they are at and will have chosen their GCSE subjects before the results come out so the only point for these tests is a league Table. But no-one cares about that one; parents only concern is with GCSE and A level tables. Our children are the most overtested in the world;
Posted by Jack | 22.07.08, 17:11 GMT
Ed obviously doesn't know a Balls up from a Balls down does he.
And why is this country in such a mess?
Do education a honour Balls.....resign!
Posted by Martin | 22.07.08, 17:05 GMT
I watched Balls perform in the Commons this afternoon - it was truly appalling: evasion, complacency, cowardice, sophistry, procrastination and ineptness.
Pathetic. Resignation would be the only option for an honourable politician - which , of course, is why he'll still be in office next October.
Posted by Robert | 22.07.08, 16:53 GMT
whats to choose between privatising nulaba and privatising tories? soon this country will be a subsidiaryof macdonals or someother american corporation
Posted by peter c | 22.07.08, 16:43 GMT
I suppose Balls is too busy adding up his ACA with Ms Cooper, and working out the best way to mazimixe his income , to worry about a little thing like exam results. 1 ACA plus 1 ACA equals a nice fat expenses claim.
Posted by kerry livermore | 22.07.08, 16:22 GMT
Having taught Key Stage 2 and 3 English for 35 years up until 2006, I'm sure I'm not alone in arguing that there is already a highly skilled team of people available to the Government, which would save them huge amounts of taxpayers money - they're called teachers. It seems odd that they're entrusted to teach our children, but not to assess and mark them! They know their pupils better than anyone, and with appropriate moderation are surely the best people to do this work.
Posted by Alan Gilholm | 22.07.08, 16:03 GMT
Online exams aren't going to help beyond multiple-choice type questions. I've yet to see a computer program capable of marking essays!
This is most likely a case of a company cutting costs wherever possible in order to maximise profits, resulting in not employing enough markers and not having sufficient infrastructure in place to support those they do have. Unless this company is firmly slapped down and fined for their shoddy performance, we're just going to have more companies milking the public teat for all it's worth with very little financial risk to themselves for their lack of professionalism.
But I bet you these guys have friends in high political places!
Posted by Tim | 22.07.08, 15:45 GMT
15 Comments